For i in istanbul != constantinople

I'm typing this on a netbook.  It's not a notebook.  It's not a laptop.  It's a netbook.  That means < 12-inch screen and no optical drive.  Also, more likely than not, means one of the uber-efficient Intel CPUs (which are actually not all that efficient, but I can't explain why without making your head spin Exorcist-style.  Just take my word for it.)  I had an Acer Aspire One netbook with an 11.6-inch screen that I felt was too big; I needed something more portable.  Sold that and got an HP Mini 1101 with a 10.1-inch screen and 160 GB hard drive (as opposed to the 250GB drive in the Acer).  I upgraded the RAM though; I'm no fool, and I like me some horsepower.  So I have a netbook (which is not a laptop) which is so "just right" Goldilocks would give me a look like Lindsay Lohan with a hangover.

I mentioned it was a netbook, right?

So why are there so many intellectually-challenged barely-vertebrates who not only don't get the difference but go further and question why I would want such a crippled laptop?  I understand people not being up on the latest technology; I have an IT degree and don't by any means expect everybody to know the difference between an Intel Socket 1366 and a Socket 1156 by sight.  But don't criticize me because I do.  In my time, I'd wager maybe 75% of people who own a laptop with more than 16 inches of screen size don't need it.  These people assume bigger is always better, or as I like to call it, the Sam Kinison Rule:  If one is good and two is better, then I want ten.  So they spend a boatload of money on a machine they might use 10% of, oblivious to their inability to get replacement parts for a too-big laptop which is going to die an expensive death just like every other laptop.

Does this logic apply to me?  Of course not.  I wouldn't be blogging about it if it did, would I?

So I have my happy little netbook, and I have Dingbat Co-Worker #45 ask me if I "like those little laptops".  She's friends with Dingbat Co-Worker #15, who has made it her goal in life to Own Six Of Everything.  DCW#15 wonders, just loudly enough for me to form an opinion, why someone would bother with something so small with no DVD player in it.  Well, idiot, it might be because I don't need one, kind of like how you don't need that pink (yes, pink) 20-inch Dell that you brought to work even though you couldn't figure out how to get it online;  now if you would please be so kind as to get back under the boss' desk and for the life of Brian stop pretending you know something before you injure yourself.

Ordinarily I would stop caring at this point but DCW#15 has already had children, thus perpetuating the cycle of idiocy.  Come to think of it, so has DCW#45.  Oh, the humanity.

So back to the star of the show, my HP Mini.  I so dig this kind of portability.  I rarely have a need for an optical drive and the size actually lends itself to applications one would not ordinarily think of.  Like a car stereo.  I ran around to various places and got various things MacGyver-style and I'm going to build a pedestal in my truck for it, similar to those you find in police cars for full-sized laptops.  Once there (though not permanently mounted) I have some Radio Shack cable adapters and I can wire it to a couple of car stereo amplifiers...

Think about it:  Is it really that crazy?

Aftermarket car stereos have 7-inch screens and play DVDs for crying out loud, and those models will easily run north of $700.  My netbook cost $300 and I get Winamp as a car stereo out of the deal.  Not like I can (or want to) watch DVDs while driving anyway, but if need be I can fit a movie or 6 on the hard drive, and on a 10-inch screen no less.  I don't have to tear apart my dash to replace the stock radio or get any more creative with the wiring. Also, it's the ultimate anti-theft device when someone looks in your car and sees only the original radio; after all, unlike a conventional car stereo I can bring the netbook in with me when I get to my destination and use it for other stuff.  I think I'll do an Instructable.

Just don't call it a laptop.